Mobile communications devices such as cellphones are now smaller than anyone could have imagined just ten years ago. Some of the credit for this diminutive sizing and convenience belongs to the advances that have taken place in battery technology. However, regardless of battery capacity and power density, efficient usage of what battery power exists is also important in allowing device providers to utilize smaller batteries onboard.
One important consumer of power in any wireless communication device is the radio-frequency transmitter. Naturally, the further away the potential recipient of the transmitted signals is, the more powerful the transmitted signal must be. In this regard, devices that utilize a cellular communications network need only communicate with the nearest suitable cell, and as the device moves, and other cells come into range and become more suitable, the device may be “handed over” to another cell to continue communications.
This process generally requires that the device monitor nearby cells in addition to the cell with which the device is currently in communication. This current cell, sometimes referred to as the primary cell, may configure the device to monitor the other cells, sometimes called neighboring or secondary cells, in a certain manner. Currently, such configurations entail supplying a list of trigger conditions and instructing the device to measure the signal characteristics of the other cells and, when triggered to do so, report those measurements back to the primary cell.
The present disclosure is directed to a system that may enhance cell measurement and report triggering. However, it should be appreciated that any such benefits are not a limitation on the scope of the disclosed principles or of the attached claims, except to the extent expressly noted in the claims. Additionally, the discussion of technology in this Background section is merely reflective of inventor observations or considerations and is not intended to be admitted or assumed prior art as to the discussed details. Moreover, the identification of the desirability of a certain course of action is the inventors' observation, not an art-recognized desirability.